“We
believe that the development of a regional space industry will benefit the
region in many respects. In addition, such a thrust is expected to yield an
increased interest in science by students at all levels, particularly in areas
related to space and satellite technology”
University of the West
Indies, Mona, lecturer Dr Louis-Ray Harris during UWI, Mona Research Day event
on Thursday February 8, 2018
Jamaica
we have liftoff of the PEAKS (Programme for the Enhancement and Application of
our Knowledge of Space). Soon we'll have our own satellite to send back weather
maps and live updates of weather patterns of the Caribbean.
At
least that is the vision of University of the West Indies, Mona, lecturer Dr
Louis-Ray Harris who is developing Jamaica's first Nanosatellite as explained
in the article “UWI
Lecturer Working On Ja's First Operational Satellite”, published Friday
February 9, 2018, The Jamaica Gleaner.
He
made this declaration during UWI, Mona Research Day event, which ended Thursday
February 8, 2018. He leads a team working on a satellite that they are hoping
to launch into space. The team, which comprises of Jevaughn Dixon and Brandon
Campbell, are also students at the University of the West Indies.
If
successfully, Jamaica will become one of several Third world countries,
including India, that have successfully placed a satellite in orbit.
But
what exactly is the PEAKS nanosatellite?
Dr. Harris PEAKS
Nanosatellite- Make this a Caribbean project and the mission is a go
The
term 'nanosatellite', or 'nanosat', is applied to an artificial satellite with
a wet mass between 1kg and 10kg (2.2lb and 22lb). Approximately 1,000 nanosatellites are said to
have been launched since 2014, mainly by small universities hitching a ride
aboard a NASA or private sector owned launch vehicles such as Space X, owned by
Elon Musk.
PEAK is powered using both a solar as well as on-board batteries. Its solar panels can also be remotely controlled from a ground station that it communicate with via a Ku-Band communication link. The earth-based mission control is really a remote server with the appropriate interface and control software to read telemetry data from the satellite and to issue commands to stay in orbit and keep it on mission.
That
mission of course is to:
1. Create
weather maps of the Caribbean
2. Produce
Live updates of weather patterns of the Caribbean
It
may also be used to do imaging work for Jamaica, which would be great for urban
planning, as hinted by Dr Louis-Ray Harris, quote: “When launched, the
satellite will be used as a tool to engage students for several programmes. It
could be used to send back weather maps and live updates of weather patterns of
the Caribbean, using its high-resolution cameras and other on-board
instruments”.
Hopefully, if he's able to secure the necessary funding, Jamaican can get their nanosatellite into the hands of NASA or SpaceX. I said “Nanosaltellites” as the cost to launch several instead of just one is significantly less, given the nature of the payload.
Also,
one satellite might not do, a constellation of them may be needed to do the
work that Dr. Harris has in mind.
Most
likely, this may become a Caribbean wide effort powered by CARICOM (Caribbean
Common Community) as hinted by Dr. Harris, quote: “It is the first in a series aimed at putting
Caribbean technology into space and to generate interest in the application of
science and technology”.
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